Auditory Anthology

When a curious beer truck driver accidentally creates a strange, water-hungry jelly in his kitchen, a lost weekend spirals into a terrifying discovery that could doom all of Lake Michigan—and maybe a whole lot more.

If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/

You can support the show by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack: https://auditoryanthology.substack.com

By becoming a paid subscriber you can listen to every episode completely ad-free!

Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/

Other shows hosted by Darren:

Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A cynical local news reporter investigates an alleged alien abduction in a quiet suburban cul-de-sac, only to uncover a hilariously mundane truth behind the "otherworldly" events.

Tales From The Blue Line: Every morning at three, Mason and Ally ride the Blue Line into downtown Chicago together. The train brings out its own brand of weird, which has led to Mason and Ally trading spooky stories to help their commute pass a little faster.

If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/

You can support the show by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack: https://auditoryanthology.substack.com

By becoming a paid subscriber you can listen to every episode completely ad-free!

Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/

Other shows hosted by Darren:

Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a vicious alien monster crash-lands in the Florida Keys, two telepathic researchers and a reclusive hermit find themselves in a desperate fight for survival against a creature far more terrifying than they could ever imagine—or so they think.

If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/

You can support the show by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack: https://auditoryanthology.substack.com

By becoming a paid subscriber you can listen to every episode completely ad-free!

Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/

Other shows hosted by Darren:

Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An ER nurse's routine night shift turns unsettling when a mysterious patient with a strange injury and no shadow appears, leaving her to question reality and forever change how she perceives the unseen.

If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/

You can support the show by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack: https://auditoryanthology.substack.com

By becoming a paid subscriber you can listen to every episode completely ad-free!

Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/

Other shows hosted by Darren:

Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

When a paleontologist on an asteroid expedition encounters the last of an alien race, he faces an impossible request and a startling discovery that could change the future of two species.

If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/

You can support the show by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack: https://auditoryanthology.substack.com

By becoming a paid subscriber you can listen to every episode completely ad-free!

Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/

Other shows hosted by Darren:

Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Back in 2020 during the middle of the COVID pandemic, I released a sci-fi novel called Righteous Might. There was a movie I really liked as a kid called “The Final Countdown.” It wasn’t exactly a big hit in its day but by the time I came on the scene it used to play late at night all over the place. In it the USS Nimitz was caught in a storm, and when they came out the other side they found themselves back on December 6th, 1941 the day before the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. As you might imagine, that creates some problems. Ultimately, just as they are about to intercept the Japanese, the strange storm re-appears and they suddenly find themselves back in their own time. I watched it again as an adult and while I still thought it was an entertaining movie, I had some problems with it. Ultimately that led me to create my own version of a story where a modern aircraft carrier finds itself back in 1941. The story changed a lot as I went along and by the end it didn’t have much in common with The Final Countdown other than that basic premise, but I still think it’s a story fans of that movie will love, along with anyone else who enjoys a good historical thought experiment. This story, Contact Lost, shows a different perspective on the whole story. I hope you enjoy it and maybe it’ll peak your interest in Righteous Might.

Pick up Righteous Might: https://www.amazon.com/Righteous-Might-Keith-Conrad-ebook/dp/B08BQ7PLRH/

If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/

You can support the show by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack: https://auditoryanthology.substack.com

By becoming a paid subscriber you can listen to every episode completely ad-free!

Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/

Other shows hosted by Darren:

Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A murder aboard a starship, a vanished secret to faster-than-light travel, and the only witness is a silent, shapeshifting alien who may not be what it seems.

If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/

You can support the show by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack: https://auditoryanthology.substack.com

By becoming a paid subscriber you can listen to every episode completely ad-free!

Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/

Other shows hosted by Darren:

Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

An intern uncovers a mysterious news tape from a station that doesn’t exist—airing a broadcast from two days in the future.

Tales From The Blue Line: Every morning at three, Mason and Ally ride the Blue Line into downtown Chicago together. The train brings out its own brand of weird, which has led to Mason and Ally trading spooky stories to help their commute pass a little faster.

If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/

You can support the show by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack: https://auditoryanthology.substack.com

By becoming a paid subscriber you can listen to every episode completely ad-free!

Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/

Other shows hosted by Darren:

Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode we’re sharing the story "Blowups Happen", written in 1940 by Robert Heinlein. Among other things, Heinlein might be best known as the writer of Starship Troopers. This story was also featured on Weird Darkness, the paranormal podcast hosted by our narrator Darren Marlar. You can check out that podcast at Weird Darkness dot com. 

"Blowups Happen" describes the tensions among the staff of a nuclear reactor. Heinlein's concept of a nuclear reactor was one of a barely contained explosion, closer to the mini star from Spider-Man 2 than anything we have in real life. As a consequence the work is dangerous, and the slightest mistake could be catastrophic. Although we’ve certainly learned that can also be the case with real life nuclear reactors. All the technical staff are monitored by psychologists who have the authority to remove them from the work at any time lest they crack under the pressure and precipitate a disaster. The monitoring itself contributes to the problem. In writing the story, Heinlein only had public knowledge of nuclear fission, but still, he somehow anticipated the actual development of nuclear technology which arose just a few years later. The story was first published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1940, before any nuclear reactors had ever even been built. A few years later when the story was re-released in the 1946 anthology The Best of Science Fiction, Heinlein did make a few modifications to the story in order to reflect how a reactor actually worked, as more information about nuclear energy and reactors was available. He also at that time made revisions to mention Hiroshima and Nagasaki Since those nuclear attacks had taken place after his original short story had been published. But we’ll be sharing the original magazine publication version from 1940, without the updates and revisions – something to keep in mind while listening. And if you like the story tonight and want to know what happens next, Robert Heinlein did write a sequel called “The Man Who Sold The Moon”. 

“Blowups Happen” is also an award-winning story – in 2016 it was nominated for the 1941 Retro-Hugo Award for Best Novelette. Please keep in mind the story was published in 1940, so some of the language – particular one term used to describe those who have black skin – was not as frowned upon back then. Darren and I both think it’s important to present the story the way the authors wrote it. With that in mind, grab some snacks and a drink and settle in and enjoy “Blowups Happen” by Robert Heinlein.

If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/

You can support the show by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack: https://auditoryanthology.substack.com

By becoming a paid subscriber you can listen to every episode completely ad-free!

Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/

Other shows hosted by Darren:

Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A man plagued since childhood by a recurring dream of a monstrous serpent stalking him across the African grasslands fears that if it ever catches him—even in sleep—he will lose his mind forever.

If you have a story you’d like to contribute to the series, you can visit https://submissions.soundconceptmedia.com/

You can support the show by becoming a paid subscriber on Substack: https://auditoryanthology.substack.com

By becoming a paid subscriber you can listen to every episode completely ad-free!

Curator: Keith Conrad linktr.ee/keithrconrad

Narrator: Darren Marlar https://darrenmarlar.com/

Other shows hosted by Darren:

Weird Darkness: https://weirddarkness.com/

Paranormality Magazine: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/paranormalitymag

Micro Terrors: Scary Stories for Kids: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/microterrors

Retro Radio – Old Time Radio In The Dark: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/retroradio

Church of the Undead: https://weirddarkness.tiny.us/churchoftheundead

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.